Greywater

Oct 6, 2014

Greywater could be the 'scum of the Broadwater'. A Gold Coast boat industry engineer suggested that greywater is worse for the environment than raw sewage in relation to degrading water quality and destroying marine habitat and fish stocks.

International cruise industry expert, Prof. Ross Klein, states that there is no legal impediment to cruise ships discharging greywater in ports throughout the world and therefore in our Broadwater if we are silly enough to allow the construction of a cruise terminal to proceed.

However, in our opinion, the real scum of the Broadwater are the four pillars of moral bankruptcy on which recent development proposals are based:

Gambling Debts

Exploitation

Misconduct and Corruption

'Theft' of Public Open Space

Gambling Debts

No element of the current cruise terminal proposal is achievable without the income generated by a casino licence. A recent (15th Sept. 2014) ABC Four Corners episode, "High Rollers, High Risks",

reveals it is the norm in Macau for casinos to pay 40% commission to Junket operators to bring in the gamblers.

Chinese travellers are limited in the amount of currency they can take out of their country making them victims of gambling debts incurred on credit with the recovery of those debts allegedly enforced by stand-over tactics by criminal gangs within China.

Is this the misery we want for visitors to our beautiful Broadwater - or shall we preserve the Broadwater for day-trippers and locals who currently enjoy its natural assets and the huge economic benefits derived from local tourism and recreational businesses currently operating in conjunction with the Broadwater's existing environs and wildlife?

Exploitation

The exploits of the largely foreign-flagged cruise ships utilising ports in Australia are revealed in the following article, based on insights from Prof. Ross Klein's recent public lectures on the Gold Coast:

"They [cruise companies] encourage Councils and Governments to gamble on constructing port infrastructure for their ships, at no cost to the cruise company, on the promise of 'build it and we will consider using it.'"

"Light-skinned employees generally earn more than darker-skinned employees as there are no national labour laws on cruise vessels”

"Most ships use low-grade bunker fuel with up to 300 times the sulphur content emitted in ports outside of the very few regulated ports in the world in California."

“Where there are laws associated with the behaviour of cruise vessels there are usually no authorities to enforce those laws.”

Misconduct and Corruption

SOSA, along with other groups, have lodged detailed complaints and evidence with misconduct, corruption and watchdog bodies like the CMC, Local Government Ombudsmen, Qld. Minister for Local Government, ASX, ASIC and ACCC regarding the lack of probity, lack of due process and the public advertising of false and misleading information in relation to development proposals by ASF (China) Group, in addition to the concealing of important ratepayer-funded Ecological and Economic reports by elements within the Gold Coast City Council.

The relationship between Mayor Tom Tate and Tony Hickey, demands attention because Hickey is Tate's personal business lawyer who accompanied Tate on his 2012 trip to China and was later announced as a spokesperson for ASF China, followed by his company 'Hickey Lawyers' being posted as a partner on ASF (China) Group's 'goldcoastevolution' website (pre-October 2014). This raises obvious concerns regarding 'conflicts of interest' which have been signalled to State Government authorities and the national media.

'Theft' of Public Open Space

An article, 'Grand Theft Land', which was first posted in November 2013 - was withdrawn by the Save Our Spit Alliance Inc in good faith until legal advice was obtained, following the receipt of a 'Concerns Notice - Defamation Act 2005' on 17th December 2013 from Hickey Lawyers on behalf of their client, Tony Hickey.

“As a not-for-profit, volunteer community organisation, SOSA welcomes the interest Mr Hickey has taken in our contribution to keeping the Gold Coast community fully informed of decisions being made by their Local Council and the State Government.

Mr Hickey has indicated his concerns with our concerns which now concern us. Therefore, the original article has been re-posted as 'Grand Theft Land 2' with additional details provided by Hickey Lawyers in a faster, more entertaining and more challenging version based on the videogame of similar title.

The full article 'Grand Theft Land' can be found at the following link:

In Summary

Get ready for the largest event in Gold Coast history, ignited by the four pillars of moral bankruptcy that underpin the potential loss of our Broadwater:

Gambling Debts

Exploitation

Misconduct and Corruption

'Theft' of Public Open Space

Community, Business and Political opposition is growing exponentially in the fight against Mayor Tate's falsely claimed mandate to 'build a cruise ship terminal' that requires giving/leasing/selling up to 100 hectares of public parks, islands and waterways to a foreign consortium and the unquestioning support received from the Tate-8 Councillors, several GCCC officers and some elements within the LNP State Government.